Updated 11:35 pm, Tuesday, April 8, 2014

MILFORD -- Cordaryl Silva was one word away from being physically removed from his murder trial Tuesday.

But it was the one word from the jury -- guilty -- that removed him from society for likely the next several decades.

Silva, a 23-year-old Ansonia resident, was convicted after a weeklong trial in the May 12, 2012, murder of Javon Zimmerman outside R.J.'s Cafe in downtown Derby. The murder capped a string of Valley shootings and deaths that Silva laid at the feet of the Zimmerman drug gang.

The jury returned its verdict at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, about two hours after it began deliberating.

As a result of the verdict, the judge determined it constituted a probation violation. Silva was on probation at the time of the shooting.

Derby Police Lt. Justin Stanko called the conviction "a victory for all Valley law enforcement" and a stark message to others "that you can't get away with this stuff."

Contrary to his earlier demeanor, Silva displayed no reaction when the verdict was read. In fact, he almost didn't get to hear his verdict.

By late morning, Markle had threatened to remove Silva from the courtroom after he made several loud complaints during and after final summations from Senior Assistant State's Attorney Charles Stango, and Lawrence Hopkins, Silva's court-appointed defense lawyer.

"I can't stop you from not acting in your best interests," the judge told Silva after he loudly objected to Hopkins not reading handwritten notes Silva prepared. "All this shows the jurors is you can't abide by the rules. The rules are, you don't interfere when lawyers are presenting their final arguments."

"It's my life," insisted the tall, thin Silva, who speaks in what Stango described as "urban vernacular."

"It's not his closing argument," he said of Hopkins. "It's my closing argument. He goes home after all this."

"I'm not going to sit here and let you run the courtroom," Markle said. "One more word from you and I am going to stop the proceeding and tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury I had to remove you from the courtroom."

That kept Silva quiet for Stango's rebuttal. He sat with his head bowed.

Evidence in the case points to this killing arising out of a series of disputes within the Valley's drug trade.

Silva, a convicted drug dealer, began working as an informant and helping the Ansonia Police Department build a case against the Zimmerman drug gang.

The gang headed by Javon and Keyshon Zimmerman was attempting to control the Valley drug trade, according to Silva. He informed police that the gang was bringing guns from the South, and shooters from Bridgeport and New Haven.

He linked them to three shootings, which included two murders -- the July 2009 accidental killing of Bernice McFadden in the Riverview Apartments housing complex on Ansonia's Olson Drive; the August 2009 failed assassination attempt on Kierron Stanley, who survived seven gunshot wounds in Derby; and the September 2009 drive-by murder of Rodney Baldwin in Derby.

No one has been charged with either the McFadden or Baldwin killings.

Silva's half-brother, Steven Cook, was arrested, convicted and is serving 10 years as the Zimmermans' trigger man in the Stanley shooting.

For weeks in 2012, Silva ranted on Facebook that the Zimmermans had left his brother "for dead" in prison by not funding his commissary account.

And Silva claimed he was shot at while walking on Ansonia's Howard Avenue near the old Ansonia High School, which is now a middle school.

But Silva never raised self-defense during the trial. While Silva maintained he didn't kill Zimmerman, he pinned the murder on one of his "boys" who he declined to identify.

But Stango told the jury the overwhelming evidence points to Silva.

The prosecutor reminded jurors that Jeffrey Johnson, R.J.'s doorman on the night of the murder, and Quandre Howell, a Zimmerman associate, both identified Silva as the shooter. Stango showed them video from surveillance cameras on downtown Derby apartment houses filming Silva running from the scene.

Stango also pointed out that two inmates, Carl Hatton and Demetrius Thomas, testified that Silva confessed to them of being the shooter after court proceedings.

Hopkins was left to attack the credibility of the two prison informants, charging they were looking to better their own cases. He pointed out Johnson identified the shooter as having a white T-shirt and gray pants, while the video captured Silva wearing a black shirt and pants.

Hopkins said Silva ran because "if any gunfire is returned, he's certainly going to be a prime target ...We know Mr. Silva didn't like the Zimmermans, and we know the Zimmermans are not too fond of Mr. Silva."

But in the end, it may have been Silva's own words that convicted him.

Stango replayed Silva's words recorded by Ansonia Police Detective Kristen Hunt just days after the Zimmerman murder.

Silva said he needs time to execute a plan that includes selling his car and getting his mother to help take care of his kids. Then he said, "This might sound crazy. I think I might take 15."

"Are those the remarks of someone unjustly accused and covering for his boy, or are those remarks of someone who committed murder?" Stango asked.